Harrow



(No Model.)

. LA DOW.

l v HARROW.

No. 494,538. Patented-Mar. 28, 1.893.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

CHARLES LA DOV, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

HARROW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 494,538, dated March28, 1893.

Application tiled .Tune 29, 1891. Serial No. 397,885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES LA DOW, a citizen of the United States,residing at Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Harrows, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to float harrows in which curved spring teeth areemployed. Harrows of this class, as now usually constructed, are made inbutterfly forni or heart shape, of two sections hinged together in thecentral draft line, each having'frame bars rigidly connected together.In orderto vary the pitch or depth of cut of the teeth, it is necessaryto adjust each tooth separately. This is both tedious and troublesome,and it is difficult to obtain a uniform adjustment.

Primarily, one object of my invention is to adjust all the teeth in eachsection of the hary row simultaneously, or both sections simultaneously.Another object is to organize the parts so that rubbish may be quicklydropped.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown one way ofembodying myinvention; it is the simplest and best way now known to me, but I wishit understood that I do not limit myself to this one embodiment of myinvention, nor to the details of construction shown in the drawings andhereinafter described.

Figure lis a plan view of a harrow embodying my invention with the teethin one section removed. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is adetail'view of the adjusting mechanism. Fig. et is a rear elevation of apart of the harrow. Fig. 5 is a detail view in section showing thepreferred manner of connecting the teeth to the frame.

rlhe harrow frame is preferably made in two sections A A', hingedtogether at a. Each section is composed of bars a', rigidly connectedtogether in the manner hereinafter described, and these bars, as shown,are of a staggered or zig-zag shape, and are arranged in the samehorizontal plan. At the angles or bendsof the bars, as well as at theirends, there are portions a2, which are shown as parallel orsubstantially so, with the draft line, and such portions of each bar areadjacent or contiguous to similar portions of another bar, so that thedifferent frame bars in each section may be readily secured together,and at these adjacent portions, the teeth are attached. The harrow framebars are united together in such manner: as to have contact at theirpoints of junction, thus making the frame more rigid than if otherwisesecured.

Each section of the harrow is shown as cornposed of three zig-zag bars,and a straighter outside bar A2, which closes the opening which wouldoth erwise occur at the side of the frame. The oblique front and outersideof the frame being in substantially 011e piece, effectually bracingthe independently rocking teeth so that their movements are uniform.

The draft devices B, may be of any desired construction, and areconnected to the two sections of the frame.

As the devices for connecting the teeth to the frame also serve toconnect the teeth-adjusting devices to the teeth, I will describe themechanism which I prefer to employ for effecting this result. Over themain frame of the harrow I mount tooth operating bars or equivalentdevices, and I connect them with the lower frame at each of the anglesof the zig-zag bars; that is to say, at the adjacent portions 0.2, bymeans of plates or bars, or arms C, which are connected to thelongitudinal portions a2, of the upper frame by bolts or rivets c, andto the longitudinal portions of the lower frame by-bolts or rivets c.These plates or bars or arms are of such length and theirl connectionswith the frame are such as to' hold the frame and the tooth operatingbarsa suitable distance apart, as shown in Fig. 5, for instance. Theyextend up into the circle of the teeth and are extended below the lowerframe, spread apart, andprovided with recesses c2, to receivethe'endsfof the teeth D, and bolts D', are employed `for drawing the twoplates together to clamp the teeth in their seats. This way of mountingthe teeth on the frame is simple, and strong, and admits of theindividual adjustment of the teeth, relatively to their arms, whenrequired. v

The connection between the frame and tooth setting devices is such thatthey may be moved relatively to each other, without varying theirparallelism; that is to say, their connection as shown in the drawings,is substantially the same as that of the parallelV ICO ruler. The toothoperating devices may be adjusted backwardly and forwardly so as toeither increase or decrease the penetration of the teeth and the angleor pitch of their working ends. Any suitable means may be employed forsimultaneously adj usting the teeth; I prefer a lever, as by its use theteeth may be moved quickly to drop rubbish. The front portions of theteeth are preferably cam shaped and when rocked their front bowportionshavea progressive movement, relatively to adjacent portions ofthe frame which shifts the position of rubbish and thus causes it todropout of the harrow as it proceeds. The frame bars form openingssubstantially diamond shape and the trailing digging portion of eachtooth in the front and second rows operates in a separate opening sothat when the teeth are simultaneously operated the frame barssurrounding the teeth form strippers therefor and push rubbishdownwardly out ot' the bosoms of the teeth. Teeth in the rear rows arenot as liable to become clogged as the advance teeth gather the rubbishbefore the rear teeth reach it.

Other objects of my invention are to prevent C shaped harrow teeth fromclogging, and, should they become clogged, to simultaneously operatethem in such manner relatively to their frame that they will freethemselves from rubbish without the operator raising the frame from theground in the manner necessary heretofore.

When following spring tooth harro ws in the field during the pastseveral years, in different locations, and under various conditions ofsoil I find that float spring tooth harrows heretofore made clog a greatdeal, and drag rubbish, particularly where the ground is soft or therubbish long, such as corn stalks or potato vines. I also find that thespring teeth of a harrow when drawn over hard ground is thereby vibratedso much that rubbish usually encountered will be shaken out from theteeth, but when such ground has been harrowed over until made soft thesame rubbish will be again picked up by the teeth,and the ground willnot then vibrate the teeth suiiiciently to shake out the rubbish and itis drawn along, but the operator may, while the harrow is in motion,step upon such rubbish as is caught in the rear teeth and thus clearfirst one tooth and then another of the rear teeth of the harrowwithoutraising the frame from the ground, but, iu order to clear eitherthe forward or middle teeth from rubbish he must lift the harrow frameand pull out the rubbish from among the curved teeth the best way hecan,and then drive on until other rubbish is encountered, when the sameoperation must be repeated or the teeth will not enter the ground, forwhen they are thus clogged, obviously they cannot work properly.

I have observed that in harrows heretofore made which carry circular orC Shaped teeth the best form of frames, that is, the form which is leastliable to clog and on which circular teeth are least liable to clog is aframe whose bars stand oblique to the line of draft and which are spacedinto openings substantially diamond shaped between the bars, having thecircular teeth attached at or near the forward ends of said openings,but even this form of frame clogs a great deal when working among thecoarse rubbish which I have previously described, in fact to such anextent that such float spring tooth harrows have little or no sale incorn raising states,such as Illinois and elsewhere, arising from thefact that rubbish lodges in the teeth around their soil workingportions, in one instance, and soon rises up into the bosoms of theteeth as more rubbish accumulates, and then it works forward towardtheir front, bow portions and lodges therein. In another instancerubbish is caught in the V shaped or wedge shaped openings of the frameadjacent to the front bow portion of the teeth, and, during the progressof the harrow, becomes wedged in said V shaped parts of the openingsbetween the frame bars, or between the tooth and one side of itsadjacent frame, and cannot readily be dislodged therefrom, and part ofmy invention is designed to remedy and prevent harrow teeth of the formdescribed from clogging at either of the points mentioned, and I obtainthese results, which operate advantageously either independently or alltaken together, by so arranging and operating teeth, shapedsubstantially as described relatively to their supporting devices thatthe new and useful results hereinbefore specified are accomplished.

Having described the defects existing in harrows heretofore made, andthe remedy proposed,I will now describe the preferred method of carryingit into effect. y

In order to prevent rubbish from being dragged by the soil workingportions of C shaped teeth I arrange them in one instance on the framein such relative proximity one to another that the front bow portions ofsome teeth are brought forward to the same or about the same transverseplane occupied by the rear soil working portions of other teeth, and Iconnect teeth in different transverse planes in such manner that theymay be rocked simultaneously (the bow portion of some teeth being rockedin a direction opposite from the soil working portions of other adjacentteeth,) whereby said front bow portions of some teeth step onto, or rockforward onto such rubbish as may be dragging from the soil workingportions of adjacent teeth and thus disengage said rubbish at variousplaces simultaneously, while the teeth are being rocked.

ln order to prevent rubbish as it accumulates in front of the soilworking portions of the teeth from working forward into the front bowportions thereof I place an arm in the space formed by the circle ofeach overhanging tooth, so that said arm projects upwardly into saidspace and divides it, and rubbish IIO which would otherwise naturallyWork forward is met by said arm and-prevented from going forward anyfarther.

In order to prevent rubbish from wedging into the V shaped rear parts ofthe openings between the frame bars or from wedging between the frontcurved portions of the teeth and any adjacent part of their supportingdevices, and being dragged thereby I simultaneously rock a number of theteeth (distributed over the harrow substantially as described) wherebythe front bow portions of the teeth are moved relatively to said wedgeshaped openings, or relatively to their supporting devices, and saidmovement simultaneously loosens and dislodges therefrom any rubbish thatmay have collected in any of the aforesaid localities throughout theframe, and this is accomplished at the will of the operator, Withoutraising the frame from the ground by lifting it bodily as heretofore byhand. The latterly divergiug or obliquely inclined portions of the framebars which are adjacent to the front bow portions of the teethpreventlongrubbish from dropping down into said portions of the teethWhenseveral teeth are simultaneously depressed relatively to saidadjacent portions of their frame bars. It will be observed that theteeth move on separate centers, and also move relatively to theirsupportingframe, and that the front bow portion of one tooth is adjacentto or about in the same transverse plane acrossthe line of draft as therear, or soil working portions of an adjacent tooth in the same series,also that the front bow portions of the teeth are nearer the center ofmotion than the soil Working portions, consequently said bow portionsand soil working portions in the same series move at unequal speed whensimultaneously operated. The frame bars brace each tooth individuallyand they stand edgewise vertically,

thus bracing the rocking movements of the separately moving teeth, and,by reason of their thinness in a vertical direction they afford thegreatest possible amount of room for the simultaneous adjustment of thecircular teeth without contact therewith. The teeth are preferablyarranged in oblique lines relatively to the path of the harrow, so as toavoid clogging, and the relative arrangement of the Y frame, teeth andadjusting devices is such that the front bow portion and the rear soilworking portion of each tooth is maintained in line with the draft atall times.

It will be seen that the frame is in two Sections each carrying threeoblique series of teeth in different draft lines and the tooth operatingbars are hinged to teeth in the front and rear series and are deectedsidewise so that they may be hinged to teeth in the mid-A dle series andsaid connection to teeth in the middle row prevents the bars frombending or buckling when pushed backwardly and forwardly by the lever,insuring uniform adjustment of the teeth. Itjwill be observed that whenthe operating bars are drawn rearwardly to cause the ends of theteethtodig the. ground, said -bars move from said ends of the Y teeth,thus aording room for the teeth to vibrate without striking said barsand said moving bars connecting with simultaneously moving teeth whichare shaped substantially as described.' The plates or arms move freelybackwardly and forwardly but do not haveV lateral or transverselmovement therefore theyl brace the zig-zag operatingbars againstbncklingand cause-them to move endwise as directly as if they were straight.

1. In a harrow, a frame having openings substantially wedge shaped attheir rear portions, in combination with devices movingsimultaneously atthe will of the operator-relatively to the wedge shaped openings wherebyrubbish may be dislodged from several of said openings simultaneously.

2. Inaharrow,aframe whosebarsform open-y ings substantially diamondshaped lbetween them, C shaped teeth distributed over the framesubstantially as described, land hinged at or near the forward ends ofsaid openings, `and having their front bow portions located in advanceofthe points of juncture of the frame bars and operatively connectedtogether so that several teeth may be moved simultaneously, incombination with means forV adjusting the pitch of the teeth.

3. Aharrow frame having bars arranged to form openingssubstantially suchas described,

teeth shaped substantially as described and having their front bowportions arranged in advance of the rearward `parts of said'openings,and devices operatively connectingsev-V v eral of the teeth wherebytheir frontbow portions may be simultaneously varied'relatively to theobliquely inclined sides of said openings so that said movement of theteethfmay act on and dislodge rubbish that maybe centralized at or nearsaid bow portions ofthe teeth by said obliquely linclined bars, duringthe progress of the harrow.

4. In a float harrow, a frame and C shaped l teeth hinged thereto so asto be simultaneously adjustable and arranged in such relative proximityto each other that when the front portions of some teethv are moved by 1their operating devices in opposite direction from the rear portions ofadjacent teeth, said front portions assist in disengaging rubbish y fromthe rear portions of other. teeth.

5. In a float barrow, aframe andC shaped IIO teeth independently hingedthereto vand ar-.. rangedin stepped ,series across therline' of draftwith the front bow portions of teeth in one series arranged adjacent tothe rear soil working portions of teeth in another series, incombination with devices operatively connected with the teeth wherebythe front bow portions of one series may be moved downwardly at the sametime that the rear soil working portions of its adjacent series aremoved upwardly, adapting the front bows of one Series to disengagerubbish from the rear portion of its fellow series when simultaneouslyoperated.

6. In a float harrow, a frame and C shaped teeth hinged thereto and soarranged relatively to each other that when the front bow portions ofsome teeth are rocked simultaneously with the rear soil working portionsof adjacentteeth (butin opposite direction therefrom,) said bow portionsstep on or rock on rubbish clinging to said soil working portions andthus assist in disengaging said rubbish.

7. In a harrow a frame and C shaped teeth hinged thereto, and soarranged relatively to each other that the front bow portions of someteeth may be rocked simultaneously with but in an opposite directionfrom the rear portions of other teeth in the same series and that saidfront and rear portions of different teeth may when rocked intersect aline transverse to the path of the harrow, thus adapting teeth in thesame series to assist in disengaging rubbish from each other whenoperated in concert.

S. In a harrow a frame and C'shaped teeth adapted to be simultaneouslyrocked relatively thereto and arranged in obliquely inclined steppedseries across the line of draft substantially as shown, the. teeth ineach series being so arranged relatively to each other that the rearsoil working portion of one tooth may, when rocked, move at a diderentspeed than the front bow portion of an adjacent tooth in the sameseries, the unequal speed of said adjacent moving parts adapting them toassist in loosening or disengaging rubbish from each other whensimultaneously operated.

9. In a harrow a draft frame and C shaped teeth adapted to besimultaneously rocked relatively thereto, the teeth being so arrangedrelatively to each otherthat the rear soil working portion of one toothmay operatein a plane substantially transversely opposite to the frontbow portion of another tooth in the same obliquely inclined series,whereby the front portion of said tooth is adapted to be moved forwardlyand downwardly while the rear portion of its adjacent fellow is beingmoved upwardly, the unequal movement of said teeth facilitating thedischarge of rubbish therefrom.

10. A harrow having its frame, or a section thereof, made up ot' seriesof bars rigidly connected together with openings substantiallydiamond-shaped between the bars, and with teeth moving on separatecenters and mounted at or near the angles of the bars and simultaneouslyadjustable as to pitch, whereby teeth in different series may beadjusted at one time.

11. A harrow having itsframe, or a section thereof, made up of zig-zagbars united at their contiguous portions, and simultaneously adj ustableharrow teeth mounted at the contiguous portions and braced by thediagonal parts of the frame.

12. In a harrow, two sections, each composed of zig-zag bars rigidlysecured together at their contiguous portions and a series otsimultaneously adjustable harrow teeth oarried by each section.

13. A main harrow frame having curved teeth secured thereto in zig-zaglines, each rocking on a separate center, a lever for simultaneouslyadjusting the pitch of the teeth, and bars shaped substantially the sameas the main frame for connecting thelever and teeth.

14. In a harrow, zigzag frame bars having longitudinal portions, platesor bars pivoted thereto, and teeth supported by these plates, incombination with means for rocking the plates, whereby the pitch ofseveral teeth is simultaneously adjusted.

l5. A harrow having zig-zag frame bars with their longitudinal portionsbolted or riveted in direct contact, in combination with teeth mountedon said longitudinal portions.

16. The combination of a harrow frame, or a section thereof,individually adjustable harrow teeth secured thereto in zig-zag linesand moving about separate centers and means for simultaneously adjustingthe pitch of sev eral teeth on a section.

17. In a harrow a frame whose bars form openings between them, and acircular tooth adapted to dig the ground in each of said openings, incombination with means adapted to simultaneously move two or more ofsaid teeth upwardly and downwardly within said openings whereby theframe around each tooth acts as a stripper therefor.

18. In a harrow circular teeth and a frame having openings substantiallydiamondshaped in which teeth operate, in combination with mechanism forsimultaneously adjusting the pitch of the teeth, said mechanismoccupying substantially parallel planes with the frame, so as not toobstruct the diamond shaped openings, nor to prevent the backward andforward or upward and downward movement of the working ends of the teethwithinsaid openings.

19. In a harrow upper and lower bars, circular teeth hinged thereto byan upper and a lower pivot for each tooth, in combination with a ratchetand lever by which said circles of the teeth may be simultaneously setmore or less in advance of their hinges and adapted to shield the hingesfrom rubbish.

20. In a harrow frame zig-zag or wavy bars set up edgewise verticallyand joined into a rigid section, and circular teeth attached at variouspoints to said section and individually braced thereby, in combinationwith means for simultaneously rocking several of ige ' sible space inwhich to simultaneously adj ust circular teeth which are individuallybraced during their rocking movements.

2l. As a new article of manufacture,a harrow frame having obliquelyinclined bars,4 curved teeth having trailing ends, and meansV forrocking the teeth simultaneously and for holding the front and rearportions of each tooth squarely in line with the draft during theirrocking movements.

22. In a harrow a frame, curved teeth hinged thereto by two hinges foreach tooth, in combination with means whereby the front bow portion oftwo or more teeth can be simultaneously rocked forward below their hingeconnections, and the points of said teeth elevated above said hingeconnections.

23. In a harrow non-revolving bars, circular teeth thereon, andmechanism located within the circle formed by each ovehanging tooth foradjusting the pitch thereof, in combination with devices for connectingsaid mechanism with a lever whereby several teeth may be simultaneouslyadj usted.

24. In a harrowaframe and C shaped teeth, each separately pivoted at apoint between its front and rear portions so as to have the weight ofits front part balance against the weight of its rear part (so as to beeasily moved backwardly and forwardly), in combination with means forsimultaneously adjusting several of said teeth.

25. The combination of a C shaped tooth with a swinging arm dividing thespace between t-he soil working end and. the front bow portion of thetooth, whereby rubbish is prevented from working forward into said frontbow portion and the tooth is adjusted as to pitch.

26. In aharrowa frame having two sections,

circular teeth hinged loosely relatively to the frame and arranged inthree diagonal series oneach section, upper bars hinged to the front andrear teeth and deiected sidewise so as to be hinged to teeth locatedbetween the front and rear series, but in a different draft line, thesaid intermediate hinge being adapted to prevent the deflected bars frombuckling, in combination with means operatively connected with the bars,adapted to impart a backward and forward movement to the teeth.

27. In a harrow circular spring teeth, a frameattached thereto and thendiverging therefrom, in combination with backwardly and forwardly movingrods, links, or other bars also attached to the teeth or to devices 6moving with the teeth and then diverging therefrom for the purpose ofsimultaneously varyin g their pitch without contacttherewith except atthe points of attachment thereto.

28. A oat harrow frame having separately hinged teeth in combinationwith devices operatively connected to and moving with the teeth in suchmanner'that the pitch of several teeth may be simultaneously adjusted;said devices, at their junction with the teeth, 'being encircled therebyto such extent that they are guarded by the encircling teeth.

29. In a harrow a draft frame, two or more series of teeth hingedthereto, arms support. ing the teeth, and a lever for moving teeth indifferent series simultaneously, in combination with zig-zag barsoperatively connecting the lever with arms of different draft.

lines, and braced at their deflected portion by said arms.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

CHARLES LA DOW.

Witnesses: JAMES M. Ruso, J. E. HOLMES.

